It is fair to say that the Atlanta Braves put together an embarrassing performance on Monday night against the Marlins. The offense failed to show up at all, JR Ritchie had the worst start of his very young career, and Aaron Bummer imploded out of the bullpen in spectacular fashion. These sorts of games happen to every team, but it also brought into focus the fact that the Braves need a bit of a pitching staff face-lift.
Now, no one thinks that Ritchie's needs to be fired into the sun. He is a very talented and young pitcher that has been battling command issues for a while now. As for Bummer, well...there is a reason why he was pitching in a game where the Braves were already losing 6-0, but he still managed to post the worst pitching performance of the night by a wide margin in just an inning of work. After the game, it was hardly surprising to see that it looked like the Braves were going bringing up an extra arm from the minors.
Sources: The Atlanta Braves have called up RHP Victor Mederos, who could be activated tomorrow in Miami.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) May 19, 2026
Mederos, 24, was traded from the Los Angeles Angels in early April and has posted a 2.53 ERA over 21.1 innings with 19 strikeouts at Gwinnett, Triple-A.
However, what we DIDN'T know was what the corresponding move would be. Putting Bummer on the injured list or even designating him for assignment made some sense. Given Ritchie's command issues and heavy usage in that game, sending him back down to the minors to get a bit of a reset was also a solid option. Unfortunately, that is not what happened at all as Drake Baldwin going on the IL with an oblique injury was the corresponding move, although the Braves did release Bummer.
The #Braves today selected C Chadwick Tromp to the major league roster and placed C Drake Baldwin on the 10-day injured list with a strained right oblique muscle. Atlanta also returned LHP Dylan Dodd from his rehabilitation assignment and reinstated him from the injured list…
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 19, 2026
Braves call up Victor Mederos to give Atlanta a fresh arm, but at the cost of putting Drake Baldwin on the injured list
This is nothing short of a disaster. Sean Murphy is out until at least July and Baldwin now has an injury that can be extremely difficult to come back quickly from. If you wanted to see if the Braves can weather a truly significant test during their hot start, this is it. We don't know exactly how severe Baldwin's oblique strain is yet, but the odds that he misses the minimum amount of time seem extremely low at the moment. Strap in, Braves fans, because you are about to see a lot of Sandy Leon and Chadwick Tromp for the foreseeable future.
As for the other moves, they are pretty straightforward. Mederos is a depth arm that can throw multiple innings if needed who originally got his start with the Angels. While his production in the majors has been questionable, he has done well in Triple-A as a swingman/spot starter type. By releasing Bummer, the Braves were short a lefty in their bullpen, so getting Dodd back from the IL is coming at a great time (assuminghe pitches well, of course).
This is a significant pivot point of the Braves' season. Baldwin has been one of their best hitters and was one of a few Braves players whose absence would be immediately felt. Surviving this stretch is going to be difficult, but at least Atlanta has some practice in juggling their roster because of injuries. One just hopes this situation goes a lot better than...well...all of last season.
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